Space Games
by ASleepDeprivedPineapple
Summary: Finally getting the game system working was supposed to simple enough. Lance figured he could get it to work, with a little outside help. Just had to finish this mission first. He'd be playing games later, wither he wanted to or not. "Ah setting up a game system with your friends? Here let's play one of mine, it'll be a real… blast." Yeah, definitely didn't want to play this game.
1. Chapter 1

Rating: T (violence)

Characters: Lance, Keith, Pidge/Katie H., Hunk, Shiro, Allura, Coran, Matt H., new aliens (like a lot), Galra

Additional Tags: Gen, platonic relationships, space family, hurt!keith, hurt!lance, whump, how do i tag, mild profanity usage, blood and injury descriptions, not season 4 compliant, au

 **Space Games**

Finally getting the game system working was supposed to simple enough. Lance figured he could get it to work, with a little outside help. Just had to finish this mission first. He'd be playing games later, wither he wanted to or not. "Ah setting up a game system with your friends? Here let's play one of mine, it'll be a real… blast." Yeah, definitely didn't want to play _this_ one.

In which accomplishing a simple task turned out to be a much greater ordeal than what Lance was hoping for. This story takes place before season 4, with Shiro just being back recently but before Keith left. That little gray area of time when missions are happening with Shiro there, but not piloting the Black Lion. This fic is rated as T for now, but some chapters may be borderline MA because of violence. Warnings will be given at the start of the chapters as they come up.

See bottom for AN

 **Chapter 1: Sleep is for the Weak and Fully Prepared**

Before any damage she'd regret later could be inflected to her work, Pidge pushed herself away from her work station with an aggressive shove. 'Why does coding have to be so difficult sometimes,' she mused. 'I know what I want to happen so why can't the stupid computer figure it out already'.

Standing up her spine protested by cracking loudly from lack of motion. She paused, arms stretched above her head, half expecting a jab saying how, "She shouldn't break like that yet". Not getting anything made her glance around the now obviously empty hanger. She furrowed her brow. What time was it? Late, if her now noticeably tired bones and strained eyes were anything to go by.

Her brain definitely needed a break. It wasn't like her code was going anywhere. Giving one last glare at her computer, she locked her computer and grabbed her tablet, getting up to leave. Walking through the halls further proved the late hour as the castle lights had dimmed to indicate night mode. Seeing how she had apparently missed dinner, Pidge set course for the kitchen, her stomach giving a light growl of approval of this plan.

She was almost to the kitchen, only to pause upon hearing lightly contained frustrated noises coming from one of the spare rooms. She paused outside, listening as a loud groan and light thump sounded from inside. Concerned and curious, Pidge decided to investigate. The door slide open to revel a disheveled Lance, jacket tossed to the side, lying on the ground with his arms crossed over his face, pliers in hand. Around him lay scattered cords, converters, and other hand tools that appear to have been grabbed at random.

Seeing as he hadn't heard the door open Pidge called out, "Lance? What..."

"Pidge I" -His arms flew up, dropping the pliers beside him- "oh man you scared the quiznack out of me!"

"Like I've said before Lance, I don't think you're using that right. Now what are you doing?"

"Well seeing as it's the middle of the night castle time I feel I should be asking you the same"- Pidge scowled in mock hurt at the accusation-"but really, I'm not surprised. I'm just trying to get our game counsel to work. Thought I'd be nice, ya know?" Lance finally sat up and turned to look at her. He was smiling, but she could tell that Lance was as done with his project as she was hers. Cracking a sly half smile she decided to offer her assistance.

"Well that would be nice. Maybe I could help for a tick?" Lance grinned a rather sleep deprived smile, his blue eyes clearing a bit of the fog that had settled in them.

"What, don't think that I can get it to work, Pidegy?" he cooed. She huffed and rolled her eyes.

"No," she replied while walking the rest of the way in, joining him on the floor, "I just wanted to see if I could help or take a look. My other project is being fickle and I need a break from it right now."

"Well…" Lance started, cupping his chin with one hand, "I suppose if you really wanted to assist me you could." He beamed at her and she again rolled her eyes with a sigh, smiling nonetheless. Pidge then turned her attention to the rig of connection wires and converters Lance had gathered when starting this project who knows how long ago. Taking inventory and following the trail of cords and sautered wires led her to where she could see why Lance would be having difficulty. Attaching the next connection would require just the right angle and probably three hands to do it right. There would need to be one or two more things added to the mechanism for it to ultimately work, but the fundamental building blocks looked solid to her perspective. Just as she was about to comment on his work, her train of thought was interrupted by a plate of food goo appearing before her line of sight.

"You weren't at dinner so I thought I'd grab you something while you scrutinize my work," Lance smirked. He set the plate down next to her then sat down again himself, returning his gaze to the gaming rig. "So do you think that this is going to work? I know I'm not totally tech savvy like you and Hunk but you do pick up on things being around you both all the time. Believe it or not I did pay attention, mostly, back at the garrison."

"Actually Lance" - She picked up the small plate and fork- "I was just about to commend you for the foundation. Looks like real solid work! Also, thanks for the food goo. I kinda forgot that's where I was headed originally," she replied a little sheepishly. She went on to explain her theory of how they could connect some of the existing work to an adapter. She was just getting to how they could rig one of the altean large tablets to be similar to a television when she caught Lance looking past her with a slightly confused and dazed look to his blue eyes. She picked up on a undercurrent of pain from his furrowed brow yet there was a happy twitch to his mouth, appearing slightly off. "What? Does that not seem like a good idea to you?" Pidge asked.

"What no! No, no I was just thinking that I was lucky that you showed up when you did", Lance stammered, quickly breaking into a grin. "Otherwise I'd never get to bed and it would totally not be good missing all that beauty sleep." She was sure there was something more, but decided to let it slide. For now at least. She made a mental note to herself to keep track if the look returned; it looked so alien on the normally boisterous Blue Paladin's face.

With that said, Lance let her finish attempting to explain her plan, nothing but nods and encouraging smiles. As soon as she finished her explanation Lance turned to grab a smile knife and a spare wire from the scattered mess. She was lost in thought of how some of the initial connection could be rearranged if necessary to increase speed when a new voice broke her out of her reverie. "Oh so I did hear other people up. Pidge, I'm not too surprised to see but Lance? What are you guys doing?

A startled yelp escaped the other opponent, Pidge catching the sight of something dropping to the ground out of the corner of her eye. First scanning the doorway revealed that the new voice was in fact, Keith. He was dressed in his usual workout gear but not nearly as dead as he appeared post training. Keith must have heard them talking on his way to the training deck, she figured. Which could only mean one thing: it was ridiculously early in the morning.

"Gah Keith! Oh man is it already time for you to lightly kill yourself? You scared me man and oh now I'm bleeding." Pidge whipped her head around at that. Apparently it had been the knife she saw fall to the ground, Lance dropping it after cutting his index finger. The cut was indeed bleeding, but not terribly. Keith gave a slight scowl before handing a small cloth to Lance to apply pressure to the cut. While doing so, Keith reiterating, "No but really, what are you guys doing? Did you even sleep?"

"Well," Pidge began, "It was on the agenda. Just got a bit sidetracked."

Lance looked like he wanted to protest, probably going on to say that he had been diligently working on the gaming system all night but held his tongue. This surprised Pidge the most, not knowing Lance even had that ability. The first tissue from Keith seemed to be doing little to help, as Lance was quickly searching his pockets for any spare tissue to help stop the blood flow while he maintained pressure. Must have been a bit deeper than she originally thought.

Movement by the door recaptured her attention. She could see Keith getting more irritated by the minute, running his hand through his hair, a defeated expression on his face. Even if his tone didn't change, Pidge knew she could now include him on the list of people feeling 'done' at the moment.

"Guys, go to sleep. Now. Remember the mission that we have planned for later today? Yeah still happening."

Oh shit, the mission. Pidge could see Lance's eyes widen slightly at the recollection and she couldn't help the small groan that escaped her lips. That earned her a probably deserved glare in her direction by Keith. It wasn't like she had completely forgot about the rescue they had planned for the day, she just got a bit sidetracked. Heck, the stupid code she had been working on she had hoped to be able to test out on this mission! She agreed though; they definitely needed to go to sleep. The aches and tired feeling that she had been ignoring while talking to Lace suddenly emerging with renewed vengeance. Looking at Lance, he gave a slight shrug before standing up, still clutching his finger with the now pink tissue. Pidge was quick to follow suit, gathering her tablet back into her arms and began following the other two Paladins out the door. It's not like they wouldn't have time later besides, Lance's finger was still bleeding and making sure he only needed a Band-Aid was the only thing between her and her bed.

All three paladins left the to-be game room and headed to the med bay with Lance. After quickly cleaning the cut, before it started to bleed again, Pidge determined that it was not too deep for just a Band-Aid and left after it was secured around Lance's finger. Keith, who had been watching from the side, nodded then left to go train for the morning. Both Pidge and Lance headed back towards their rooms, Lance grabbing a few extra Band-Aids since it looked like he would bleed through this one.

Unlocking her door and spying her bed sent another wave of exhaustion through her. Although reluctant she couldn't crack her code by the mission, Pidge flopped down on her bed not even bothering to turn the lights on initially or change into nightwear. Kicking off her shoes, she figured that it would've been nice to test the code on this mission if she had gotten the chance. Sighing into her pillow, Pidge allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

The sleep was short lived though, because it seemed no time had passed before she felt a hand lightly shaking her shoulder. "Hey come on, we need to meet up soon before the mission," a voice that distantly sounded like Shiro said. A little more jostling helped her shake off the last remnants of sleep. Pulling herself upright, Pidge cracked open her eyes to see she was right about who was there. Shiro was standing in his paladin armor by her bedside, a small frown expressing his concern.

"S'lright, Shiro m'up. Promise," Pidge slurred. She blinked hard and yawned while finally drawing all her attention to the black paladin. His frown deepened slightly but before he could say anything she inputted, "And I'll be up and ready soon. I got like what, four hours of sleep? That's more than enough to keep me going good," She tried to reassure by trying to sound awake.

"Three and a half actually," Shiro retorted. "Well I still wish you'd sleep more but that's about typical of you. Lance though…" He left the concern hang in the air. While Pidge was used to being a proud member of team 'No Sleep', Lance and his bed were practically best friends. A friendship riving his with Hunk even.

"Well, I can actually share my space coffee today so Sleeping Beauty won't complain the whole mission," Pidge suggested.

"It's not the complaining I'm really worried about, but that couldn't hurt." Shiro sighed. Pidge could almost see the internal anxieties building up and really wished she could just understand the underlying concerns plaguing him. That would involve tearing down his security walls, and she couldn't subject Shiro to reliving his blocked memories. Not when they were obviously so painful.

"Okay meet down in the kitchen in twenty dobashes" and with that Shiro left her to prepare for the impending mission. Rolling out of bed was still difficult but she had to keep pretending to be a functioning person. Fake it until you make it, right? Only eighteen more dobashes until the team was reviewing their strategy for the mission. She just hoped it was enough time to mentally ready herself and hoped that everyone else was more prepared then her.

 **Author's Note:**

All the foreshadowing. This is my very first fic, so any critics would be greatly appreciated! Think of this chapter as only an introduction and plot builder; if all goes well things will really kick up in the next chapter. I'm working on a publishing schedule. Please leave a review below! See you in the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

**Rating:** T(violence)

 **Characters** : Lance, Keith, Pidge/Katie H., Hunk, Shiro, Allura, Coran, Matt H., new aliens (like a lot), Galra

 **Additional Tags** : Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron), Pidge | Katie Holt Hunk (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron), or is it Shiro? Who knows, Allura (Voltron), Original Galran Character(s), Coran (Voltron), Matt Holt, Original Alien Character(s), Hurt/Comfort, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, POV Keith (Voltron), POV Pidge | Katie Holt POV Hunk (Voltron), POV Lance (Voltron), Hurt Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Whump, Keith (Voltron) Whump, Alternate Season/Series 04, Hurt Lance (Voltron), BAMF Keith (Voltron), BAMF Lance (Voltron), Team as Family, Platonic Relationships, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

See bottom for AN

 **Chapter 2: Storming the Castle**

Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic

-W.H. Auden

He was definitely not prepared for this mission. When Hunk had come in earlier to wake him, Lance could've sworn his head had just hit the pillow. Guess he had pulled a pretty Pidge move in getting caught up in a project all night. How could that little gremlin do this willingly on a regular basis? Ah damn, he wasn't paying attention again. Lance quickly rubbed his eyes and brought his focus back to the room instead of his internal musing. He tentatively took another sip of the space coffee he had been given upon entering the control room by Pidge. While he had been grateful, because anything would help, the suspicious green color was just throwing him off. He needed to be more alert for the mission though. They were just getting to review the vital portions of the mission as Lance was tuning back in.

"… So at this point we'd have drawn their attention away with a seemingly natural disaster from the elements and have snuck inside. Hunk will stay in Yellow and Allura in Blue, upgrading the damage done if necessary, and remaining unseen as long as possible. They'll also be needed later to have their lions ready to evacuate the prisoners," Shiro was saying.

Allura nodded at Shiro before adding, "Yes and remember, the Zuiry'kt are a proud warrior race that excel in battle strategy and fighting. They are very honor bond, so rescuing some of their officers is crucial to helping Voltron form a strong alliance."

"Real proud and stubborn, those lot," Coran interjected with a twirl of his mustache. "All about dying a glorious death. Will fight for what they believe in tougher than a wruihl during flvhmio season!"

"… Right," Shiro agreed with a slightly puzzled tone. "Anyway the Princess is right. Making sure we free the captives is our top priority. That's why we'll be breaking off into two teams. Pidge and I to command to lower all the defenses and open the cells, while Keith and Lance get to the prisoners and make sure they leave before starting a full blown riot. We can't have the entire base bearing down on us, even with the help of any warriors who would jump into the fray. We don't know if there are others being held or who may be injured."

Honestly, Lance would rather just pick off all the sentries while they were making their way through the work camp. It would make the whole sneaking in thing easier if there was no one left to hide from. He bet Keith would agree with him, but wouldn't go against Shiro. The place was huge and highly guarded so it really was the best plan but still, he could dream.

Speaking of a certain mullet, Keith kept glancing his direction every few tics and it was starting to irritate him. "What Keith," he hissed, too tired to keep any semblance of his usual upbeat attitude.

Keith fully turned to him and quipped, "Do you remember the general layout we went over the other day? Also, are you even listening right now?" Sheesh no trust. Must be because he wasn't interrupting or being lively as usual, or that he had totally been spacing out for a good five minutes earlier. Eh whatever he was tired. He knew that Keith was still trying to be a leader for the team, seeing as he was piloting Black at the moment, but he really didn't need the sass. All eyes were now directed towards the two Paladins, since Keith had decided to oh so subtly responded to Lance.

"If you must know, Keith, yes I was paying attention," Lance retorted while placing a hand on his hip. The Blue and Red paladin raised his other hand, careful not to spill the remaining space coffee, in a half-hearted dramatic gesture and continued. "Me and you, ninja our way through, kick ass if we need to, free the peeps, and high-tail it back to Green, Yellow, and Baby Blue while the Gremlin locks the remaining guards in their own base so everyone can load up, with enough time for another lion to come if necessary. Boom done, briefing over."

"Well it's lacking a few details, but I guess we did just go over this not too long ago. Alright team, to your stations. Let's do this," Shiro concluded. Lacking a few details indeed. Keith wasn't fully happy with Lance's report. He noticed how Lance failed to mention how exactly they were going to get through the base. Looks like it was up to him to navigate, again. Not that he minded too much anyway because then Lance could cover his back. His shooting still was impressive no matter how inflated his talk was. Keith wasn't dumb; he knew talent when he saw it. He just didn't think Lance's ego needed the additional praise to go to his head.

Also he could tell that the lack of sleep was really bugging him. That space coffee could only do so much. He would know, seeing as he had snuck some before when he would be the only one up for light training in the morning. He couldn't do it all the time or else Pidge would start to notice. Keith really didn't want to have to explain himself; it'd be so troublesome and awkward. Like he really needed help in that department, he darkly joked to himself. Picking up his helmet just as the castle exited the wormhole, Keith started in the direction of the Green lion's hanger with all of the other Paladins minus Hunk.

"See you on the flip side buddy!" Lance called out joyfully to Hunk with a wave, "Have fun destroying a mountain!"

"Have fun storming the castle," Hunk called back with a backwards hand raise. Pidge pushed up her glasses with a snort while Shiro gave a tiny smile. Lance smiled like a madman, "HA! I'll be sure to best a giant while I'm at it!"

"Lance," Keith deadpanned, "We're supposed to avoid the Galra, remember? You literally just said we have to ninja our way through the base not even ten dobashes ago."

Unimpressed eyes met his. "I was making a reference Keith. Obviously any actual giant Galra we may come across we hide or run like hell from."

Keith was equally unimpressed. If Lance had enough energy to joke and try to rile him up then he'd be fine for the mission. Why was he even concerned? "I know it was a reference, just make a better one."

Lance rolled his eyes and pointed a finger at him. He looked ready to dish out more sass when Pidge interrupted. "I am not dealing with this the whole ride there, and you two are going to be a two man team in less than a varga. Knock it off."

Pidge was right, as usual. Keith figured that the additional sass was most likely from sleep deprivation, but that didn't make Lance any less annoying. They were going to be stuck together for this mission and with Lance being in a mood he was going to have to keep his cool. He grimaced at the thought before he could stop it. He hoped this wouldn't be a long mission.

On board the Green lion things were too quiet. Shiro looked calm, like the silence wasn't deafening, while Pidge kept fidgeting in her chair. Keith was beginning to feel unsettled himself. This was not how they usually went into battle, and the unfamiliar situation was making Keith start to feel jittery himself. He started to shift on his feet and look out at their surroundings to keep himself occupied.

"Alright someone has to talk 'cause I'm starting to get creeped out," came Hunk's voice over the comms.

"Well our usual background chatter is being quiet today. Its weirding me out, too," Pidge added.

"Hey! You always said I was distracting you from going over the plan again," Lance protested.

"I got used to it – she shrugged and rolled her shoulder – and it was kinda' nice actually. Going over things too many times just leads to panic. At least, that's what Matt tells me when I'm studying…"

Seeing the conversation going south real quick with Shiro putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, Keith quickly redirected the conversation. "Yeah you are being extra quiet today, Lance. Why were you up so late? You never did tell me after I asked this morning."

The Blue and Red paladin stiffened, then relaxed so fast that Keith almost believed he was seeing things. A forced grin and strained, tired eyes meet his. A tight chuckle trickled out while Lance sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh right that. I was just up working on the game system. Thought it would be a nice surprise after the mission to be able to relax and play, ya know?" Lance was still meeting his gaze, but Keith wasn't totally buying it. Something was off but he couldn't tell what.

The others, though, were not looking directly at Lance like Keith was. They didn't see the slight sag in his shoulders with relief when Hunk exclaimed with excitement over the comms. Didn't notice how he redirected his attention to the floor when Pidge started going back and forth with Hunk about what still needed to be done. Keith twisted his lips to the side, trying to think of what to say next. He had just been thinking about crossing the cockpit to the Blue paladin to ask what was up when Shiro butted in.

"Alright team, we're entering the planet's atmosphere. Hunk, Allura, time to splinter off."

"Got it. We'll just be going to cause a 'natural' disaster now," Hunk lamented. Keith could tell that Hunk really wasn't looking forward to purposefully drawing all the attention to himself. He could relate to that. He knew it was necessary for the mission, but Keith didn't want to put him in anymore danger than necessary. Keith nodded to himself in determination; he would finish this mission quickly.

It seemed he wasn't the only one who shared his sentiment. From his vantage point at the back of the cockpit, he could see Shiro was watching the Yellow and Blue lions fly off, and Keith didn't miss Pidge glancing back and forth while steering. The only thing missing was a cheerful comment from Lance. Flipping his gaze to Lance, it didn't look like any cheeky comment would be coming. Lance's eyes were downcast and leaden. His whole demeanor screamed exhaustion. Yeah, definitely making this a fast mission.

Sneaking down to the back of the base was simple enough with the cloaking of the Green lion. The exterior resembled a prison compound, with controlled lifts to the quarry and fields above. The base itself was set deep at the bottom of a ravine, in a ledge that overlooked an abyss. Tall guard towers stretched up and out of the desolate ledge, overlooking the expanse below and looming over the cells trapped in their shadows.

Regardless of how advanced the technology the Altean scanners could only pierce so far into the pit. For all Keith knew, it went completely through to the core. He had seen so many strange things in space that it wouldn't even surprise him at this point; even though according to earth science it shouldn't be possible.

From the dust cloud forming in the distance, Hunk had begun his distraction. After a quick confirmation over the comms from Hunk that yes, the Galra's attention was unquestionably directed towards him, Pidge hacked into the system to open a backdoor. Once inside the four split off. The pairs making their way down the dark gray hallways, dimly lit with a familiar repulsive purple. Lance and Keith went in the opposite direction of Pidge and Shiro, deeper into the compound as opposed to the highest control tower.

"It smells down here."

"Shut up, Lance." This was the third stupid comment in less than ten minutes by the Blue and Red Paladin. "We're almost there, we-he glances down at his wrist device- we only have two more hallways until we reach the cells. Do you want us to get caught," Keith hissed behind him.

A slight pout spouted on what was visible on Lance's face below his visor. "Yes Keith. I obviously want us to get caught so we get locked down here in this dark, smelly prison. We haven't even ran into anything but cameras thanks to Hunk and Allura directing all the attention at them. Seriously though, you don't think it reeks?"

"That could change at any time. We don't want to put Hunk or the princess in any prolonged danger so let's keep moving." Keith continued down the hall, Pidges navigation unit see was live streaming showing the door just up ahead, trusting Lance to follow him. The slight sigh and grumble told him Lance was doing just that, so he kept moving, eyes scanning the increasingly darkened halls.

Lance was right though. It really did smell foul down here. The Zuiry'kt were very honor bound according to Allura, and had strong sense of kinship. Dying for each other was the standard and very respected in their culture. That's what it smelled like down here; everyone was dying for one another. That and coupled with the dark, cold atmosphere, Keith felt on edge and stiff from holding tension too long. Even if they had only been creeping along for a bit less than half a varga.

Being so on edge did pay off. Faint, metallic footsteps could be heard rounding one of the last hallways Keith and Lance needed to cover before reaching the holding cells. Keith quickly ducked behind an open archway, reaching back to mom-belt Lance into doing the same. Lance, joking aside, was just as on edge as Keith and so was already jumping back alongside Keith, prepping his bayard. He whips out his Blue blaster and holds it steady, looking over the Red and Black Paladin's shoulder.

The rhythmatic stomping becomes louder and echoes down towards the pair as the sentries approach. A full squadron, set to remain guard while the rest investigate Hunk, comes into view. There are at least ten sentries in total. Not a totally unreasonable number for two skilled Paladins, but not a size that Lance would engage if he had to. Alas, that decision was made for him the moment Keith went sprinting head first into the patrolling unit.

"Keith! – He jumped out from behind the archway – I thought we were trying to be stealthy," Lance called out. He began to lay down cover fire regardless as he followed Keith from a reasonable distance into the horde.

"Element of surprise! Best get rid of them now," Keith clipped. Okay yeah, getting rid of the bots before freeing the probably injured, sacrifice themselves, fight-to-the-death type aliens was probably a good thing, Lance thought. He doubted that the rash Red and Black Paladin had actually been thinking that when he started hacking and slashing, but whatever works.

The cold tension he had built was not doing himself any favors though. His fingers felt stiff with each pull of the trigger and his arms heavy. From what he could see, Keith had shrugged off his uncomfortableness in the few tics it took to reach his first opponent and was fairing much better than he. That didn't mean he was doing absolutely fantastic either. Some of the bots Keith had simply hacked through to disable and move on were beginning to gather their bearings and turn to corner the Red Paladin. Not to mention the element of surprise was officially gone.

Lance's frozen fingers fumbled to catch up to his frantic actions. He needed to cover not only himself, those metal arms were reaching a bit too close into his bubble, but definitely Keith's dumb ass actions. Seriously, if he wasn't so busy trying to not get hit himself while chasing after Keith he'd be yelling at for how reckless this plan was and making him worry. Not easy being a sharpshooter when the best he could do was run and shoot with stiff fingers.

He wasn't catching up to Keith though. Too many of the stumbling sentries were in the way. Keith was just slashing through too many without them remaining disabled anymore. They were quickly outnumbering him; Keith just didn't know it yet.

"KEITH!" Lance called out again. Screw the distance he needed to safely shoot or use bayard properly. Lance raced through the surging bots, bludgeoning them out of his way with the side of his laser. He jumped into the fray and started to be grabbed from every direction. Metal grasps, stinging from the cold, bit into his arms and torso in an attempt to restrain him. Lance struggled to break free, losing his sight of Keith and then closing his eyes, quickly overwhelmed. Whirring and clanking suffocated his senses.

A slight gasp broke through the mechanical havoc. The sharp intake snapping Lance back to his surroundings. He didn't realize his finger had found its way to the trigger, and had been steadily pulling the last few tics. Where was Keith? Breath. Focus. The hands dropped and sparks lit the dark halls as the last of mechanical bodies dropped. Ocean Blue eyes panned the halls, searching for the feint glow of his fellow paladin's armor. A groan to his right drew his direction to the ground where red and white armor could be seen amongst littered metal scraps. Clearing a way to Keith, Lance found him lying on his side, struggling to stand while clutching his shoulder. Small tendrils of smoke escaped between his clasped hand. A burn mark, angrily displayed on his upper shoulder blade, close to his collar bone, came to light as Keith continued to shift about.

"Oh man. _Dios_ , Keith! Quiznack. I'm so sorry man. I was trying to warn you and then there were more getting up and you were going to get overwhelmed and then I-"

"Lance," Keith interjected, "I'm fine. Ow." He was peeling himself off the floor only to shift and attempt to role his shoulders. Keith finally turned around to face Lance, who was relieved to note that although the entry wound did not look too good, the armor seemed to have absorbed most of the shot with only a small mark noticeable above Keith's left armpit. "Just be careful when charging right into battle, Sharpshooter."

"Hey who was it that originally blew our cover, Keith!" Lance through his arms up in an exasperated fashion. I was just trying to cover you, Hot-Head," Lance retorted, not really throwing any heat behind his words. "I may have been neglecting proper weapon safety, but I'm not the one who decided to risk my personal safety originally!" He could feel the worry and guilt swimming in his eyes as he tried to keep his lip in a tight line to mock agitation. Keith could feign being fine pretty good, but Lance had younger siblings and knew he was faking it. Keith's hand immediately returning to his shoulder after trying to stretch out his arms wasn't helping his case either.

Keith let out a deflated sigh, picking up his discarded bayard and testing the weight with one hand rather than two. Seeming satisfied he began trudging down the halls. "Come on, it's just one little laser blast. Halls are empty now, so let's go."

Grumbling about stubborn, bull-headed mullets, Lance begrudgingly followed. The prisoner cells came into view fast after the next bend.

"Lance do you read?" cut through on his comms. Pidge.

"Yeah we're here. Just dealing with some bots. Keith got hit and thinks he's fine, but don't believe him for one minute!"

"I'm fine, guys," Keith cut in before any further questions could be asked. "We're at the cells now. Pidge, can you get us in?"

There was a pause in which Lance knew Pidge was debating asking for more information. He could almost see her reluctant eye roll before the doors slid open without another word. Keith quickly snaked his way in, Lance close behind.

The aliens were not quite what he had expected, but then again they never were. Burly and mean seemed the most appropriate way to describe them. Even amongst what he was guessing were females and children, the corded muscles were easily visible against ruddy skin. The sharp features a perfect match for the wicked, black speckled eyes. Lance's instincts were on edge, a primal warning that joking his way into their hearts was not the way to go here.

Keith must've felt the same way, as he kept his bayard out, but lowered the tip of the blade to the floor. "My name is Keith – he gestured to Lance – and this is Lance. We're Paladins of Voltron here to get you out."

An older alien stepped forward. "We heard the song of battle in the halls," he called out. "We accept your spirit, Paladins of Voltron. Let us leave to seek a glorious death by our own means."

Man, Coran was not kidding about the 'glorious death' stuff. As the last of the prisoners were assisted to leaving the cells, Lance felt a little grateful for the fight earlier. He wouldn't have wanted to know what would've happened had they had not been accepted.

"… Out through the back door again. Lance? Hey, are you even listening? Wait are you bleeding?" He jumped at the hand on his arm. Damn he had spaced out again. Bleeding? What bleeding? Drawing attention to the injury caused the slight stinging he had been ignoring into focus. Hoping up his right hand he noticed the blood stained portion of his glove, quickly expanding as it flowed down his wrist.

Clarity came just as quick. "Oh yeah my cut from yesterday. This morning. Whatever. Must've reopened it shooting. It's not bad, you saw it earlier," he pointed out.

"Yeah well neither is mine but I'm not openly bleeding" Keith remarked. They were leading the way back, well mostly Keith, and just passing the garbage from earlier.

The stressed sound of Hunk over the coms interrupted the quiet conversation. "Um, guys? I don't think our cover is working anymore!" Lance was just about to ask Shiro what that meant for them when his senses were over powered with white. His eyes squeezed tight as he was knocked off his feet. Flat on his back he took a mental inventory of possible injuries while trying to gather his bearings. Not finding anything serious, Lance dejectedly rose to his feet. Shaking his head to clear it, he lazily thought that that answered his question to Shiro. Rapidly blinking Lance took in the situation. Red gas engulfed the halls, the Zuiry'kt were howling, Keith was on his back clutching his injury from earlier.

As the haze dissipated the Zuiry'kt remained agitated and, if possible, more tense than Lance thought anything was capable. The ringing was just starting to fade from his ears as he tried to help Keith up, again. It was then that he became aware of three important sounds: His team calling out to them over the coms, alarms glaring in the distance, and the advancing whir of mechanical feet. He should've known that those were not the last sentries they'd run into.

Spiro's voice cut through with his warning. "Guys! Can you hear me? We have to go, now! Pidge had to start the lock down in order to keep most of the Galra officers and backup out from where you are now. The countdown is started. Get the Zuiry'kt to the lions as fast as you can!"

"I'll keep you updated on time, just focus on getting out," Pidges voice rang out. Lance had successfully, sort of, deadlifted Keith as he replied.

"Yeah we copy. Thanks Pidge," Lance croaked. Now they just had to get out, with a bunch of adrenaline filled aliens. Those aliens who were whipped into a frenzy at hearing the sentries and had shot down the hall to engage the enemy. All within a time limit. Ah quiznack

 **AN:**

Now the real fun begins. Sorry this took so long to post, but with season five coming out I need my time of panic. No spoilers please! The plan is to try to post every other week at most. Feel free to scream at me, with me, or both below in the comments. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Rating:** T(violence)

 **Characters** : Lance, Keith, Pidge/Katie H., Hunk, Shiro, Allura, Coran, Matt H., new aliens (like a lot), Galra

 **Additional Tags** : Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron), Pidge | Katie Holt Hunk (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron), or is it Shiro? Who knows, Allura (Voltron), Original Galran Character(s), Coran (Voltron), Matt Holt, Original Alien Character(s), Hurt/Comfort, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, POV Keith (Voltron), POV Pidge | Katie Holt POV Hunk (Voltron), POV Lance (Voltron), Hurt Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Whump, Keith (Voltron) Whump, Alternate Season/Series 04, Hurt Lance (Voltron), BAMF Keith (Voltron), BAMF Lance (Voltron), Team as Family, Platonic Relationships, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

Chapter has minor descriptions of injury and suggests violence. See below for full A/N.

 **Chapter 3: Naturally Disastrous**

There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we

call life when a man takes his whole universe for a vast practical joke.

-Herman Melville

"Yeah sure Hunk, just go use your giant, mechanical cat to distract some scary, purple aliens who'd love to shoot you. Seems perfectly normal to me." Hunk was muttering to himself as he flew off in Yellow. He knew a distraction was necessary, but he wished it didn't have to be him. What if it didn't work and none of the Galra even noticed? Then the team would have no cover at all and he was far enough away that getting to them, over the quarry basin and into the ravine, would take much to long for his liking.

He just had to make it big then so that wouldn't happen. He _couldn't_ let that happen. The Princess was with him so at least he didn't have this responsibility alone. Besides the deep gashes and few mountains, the rocky terrain remained barren. Even though water is Blue's foremost strongest element of operation, her scanners were what was needed in this case.

The Princess was to scan the crevasses by the base of a nearby mountain for loose ground. That way, he could use the yellow lion's sturdier frame to knock them down. Creating an avalanche to create a large dust cloud and destroy some of the mineral mines down below, without hurting anyone. Well anyone not Galra at least. Another reason Allura's scanners were necessary.

"Hunk, according to my scans there are no life forms below… here," Allura's voice filtered through the coms as a point on his map flared to life. "The rock above looks quite loose. I can use the blasters above to freeze the rocks to make them more brittle beforehand. That should enable more to fall initially; what do you think?"

"Yeah sounds good, Allura," Hunk responded while sizing up the rock. If this landed correctly it would drop far down to the plains and caves below. "Alright I'm in position. Whenever you're ready."

The icy blast from Blue crashed into the cliffside, causing the loosest stone to break free. Jamming his thrusters forward, Hunk sent Yellow for a direct collision course. The chunk of mountain, roughly the size of the lions themselves, was sent crashing down below where it landed and burst with a shattering boom.

Yellow and Blue zipped to the side for fear of being caught in the large dust cloud that rose from the rubble. Hunk used the stabilizers from Yellow to secure himself to the remaining mountain, while Allura had Blue grip to Yellow.

"Okay now what," Hunk asked, "How will we know it worked? Do we just keep exploding things?" He couldn't make out anything in the dust cloud.

"I think our diversion was more than successful," came a strained reply. The dust was beginning to settle down to the lions line of sight, and from her tone just above him, whatever she was seeing was not good.

"Alright well we need to keep them away from the others so just tell me when and where to smash things, you with mighty scanner," he tried to say positively. Probably came out more like sarcasm or anxiousness, but that's what he was really feeling so not too surprising.

A soft exhale made it way over the coms. The Princess steeling herself. "Yes you are right. We must ensure the safety of the other's so they can complete their part of the mission. Alright, we are going to have to move. I'll take another scan and send you the coordinates. We must do this."

"Yeah alright. Just point me where to go," Hunk responded. The dust had cleared enough that he could see the troves of sentries and Galra flooding out of the trench. He could see rows upon rows of purple. Consider them distracted.

"Now Hunk! Over there!" came the shout over the coms, just quick enough so the panic didn't have time to settle fully. A blip on his monitor showed a new location marked, and after seeing the flash of light from the Blue lion, Hunk hit the throttle blindly at the target. The impact was jarring since he couldn't tell when he needed to brace himself, making his head spin for a moment.

The debris was piling up below and blocking the advance of most of the foot troops. Well according to Allura's scans, some of the sentries were even crushed. Hunk continued his body slams until a quick call for cover had him scrambling back to their earlier perch.

"Allura what's wrong? They didn't see me did they," he called out. It was difficult to gauge when he could barely see himself, even with his on-board systems.

"No they have stopped advancing. We were correct in that similar events of rock fall occur naturally on the planet given its terrain, so they must be waiting it out in order to clear out the damage. Only a small number of the remaining sentries are being sent ahead now." She paused and came back, sounding uncertain saying, "We should just have to drag this out now."

Hunk was just about to ask for the next target when a metallic screeching resounded. A startled gasp and jostled lions confirmed that Allura had been hit. The whine of the stabilizers drowned out any other communication as Hunk wrestled with the controls. Even though he hadn't been the one to be directly hit, since Blue had been resting on top of him, Yellow bucked fiercely. Without the stabilizers, Hunk was sure he would be joining the debris down below, right where the Blue lion was currently headed.

Hunk swallowed his rising bile. Arms shaking, he directed his coms towards Pidge and Shiro since Allura's were not working or she was unconscious from the blast. Blue looked like a plinko ball, hitting every 'peg' of rock as it free fell towards the heap of rumble. The coms not working were the least of Allura's worries if he didn't get there in time. If only he could tell what was going on, but the dust had been revived with the blasts around him.

Quickly he patched to Lance and Keith, who he knew would be dealing with company very soon.

""Um, guys? I don't think our cover is working anymore!" No direct response only further stirred the unease in his gut. Hoping his message got across, he switched coms to the other remaining Paladins.

"Pidge! Shiro! Come in! Ugh, so our distraction worked. Like really well. So there's uh, there's a lot of Galra out here and, well I couldn't see, still can't really but there was a blast and Blue got hit..." the ramble spilled out as he wrangled Yellow fully back under control, sending her in a swan dive towards blue. No mind to the rocks, since he could just plow through.

A burst of purple light next to him brought his eyes quickly off the descending lion below him. Enemy blasts were not as easy to plow through. If the Blue lion was anything to go by, he really needed to avoid the cannon fire. Wait cannons? Seriously? Who brought cannons to check on a natural disaster? Unless….

"… It's totally a trap for you guys!" He cut his ramble off with the sharp exclamation. If he wanted an answer, not talking for a tick and internal panic was necessary.

"Hunk, we understand is the Princess alright?" That was Shiro coming through, calm and concerned. A moment of relief went him through at their space dad's words. He was so glad that Shiro was back and able to help out again before they tried this mission. Not that Keith wasn't a good leader, with Lance's help, but having Shiro back was certainly comforting in times like these.

The calming moment was fleet though, as he had to swerve out of the way of another canon blast. Sweat tickled his face and he nearly bit his tongue off in concentration. He plowed through another bolder to give himself dust cover as he caught up to Allura.

She was a tick from impact when he collided, engaged gravity locks, and thrust upwards as hard as Yellow could go. Yellow gave a roar in effort, mixed with triumph when only the tips of Blue's claws scraped the ground. Hunk just slowly let out a shaky breath. He had caught Blue just in time.

Oh wait, Shiro. "Huh, yeah. Yeah well as far as I can tell. She didn't smash down into the trench below but the coms are down in Blue, I think," he finally relayed.

"Go find some cover in the safe zone we mapped out originally. Try to keep contacting Allura, and keep us posted. We'll probably be needing backup here soon, so only stay there long enough to regroup," came Shiro's voice over the coms again.

"Yeah no need to tell me twice," he replied as he swerved Yellow and Blue away from another blast. Taking a quick peek through the clearing dust, several of the lines of purple they had drawn out were noticeably retreating back to the base. Allura's com gave a spark of static before a light cough, then cut itself out. Well, Hunk thought to himself, which was promising. Priority one, check on the princess once out of immediate cannon danger. Then, off to the base. Well, guess he'd be the one really storming the castle now.

Pidge was not happy. She had only been a portion of the way of breaking logged files, looking for info on Matt or her dad, when Hunk's panicked message made its way over the coms. She gave a small curse, earning her a slight frown from Shiro as he reached out to Lance and Keith. It wasn't that she was mad at Hunk or Allura, they had done their job as well as to be expected given their track record. No, she was angry that she hadn't been able to use her new code.

If she had just been able to finish it, she could've used it to scan for life signatures and sentries, distinguishing who was Galra or not. She had been so close! If only she hadn't gotten sidetracked with commandeering Lance's project. Or going to sleep.

She shook her head, no time for a pity party. She checked the download progress of the data. Might as well sift through it later. Right now her team needed her. She needed to prep the lockdown, but Shiro was still trying to get into contact with Keith and Lance. They hadn't heard anything from either Paladin since she had opened the cell door several dobashes ago. This new quiet side of Lance was unsettling, and now that she knew what happened when he didn't get his beauty rest, she would make sure this never happens again so long as she could help it.

Her fingers danced along the keyboard, too pressed for time to backtrack. She heard Shiro try again to reach Lance and Keith.

"Guys! Can you hear me? We have to go, now! Pidge had to start the lock down in order to keep most of the Galra officers and backup out from where you are now. The countdown is started. Get the Zuiry'kt to the lions as fast as you can!"

A soft huff relayed that his message had gotten through, which was all she needed to know at that point.

"I'll keep you updated on time, just focus on getting out," she relayed while hitting run on the timed lockdown sequence. They only had fifteen dobashes to get clear before everything sealed up tight.

"Yeah we copy. Thanks, Pidge," came a croaked reply from Lance. No time to worry why the Red and Black Paladin was not answering. A soft beep alerted her to a complete download.

"Alright Shiro, let's go." She grabbed the chord and made her way towards the door, catching Shiro's eye and getting a quick nod as a reply. He lead the way back down the musky halls, arm raised in defense. The alarms were blaring, but other than the constant droning, only the sound of their light footsteps echoed down the hall.

A brief hiss of static was quickly followed by, "Oh quiznack." Lance.

"Pidge," Shiro stopped before a turn in the hall, whispering over his shoulder, "There's red smoke coming down the hall. I don't know what it is, so visors down."

Visor down, her muffled breath came even louder over their steady pace. Only 10 dobashes left. They were getting close to the intersection point; no guards or unnecessary stealth made traveling through the base much faster. The same couldn't be same for both Lance and Keith, who were nowhere in sight.

She fiddled with her com, the weight in her gut settling further when the only reply she got was static. The knot uncoiled a bit when a clipped 'roger' came from Hunk, but still noting from her other boys. She wanted to check in again, but a quick signal from Shiro halted her. They were not alone anymore.

Growls reached crescendo as she and Shiro turned the corner. Zuiry'kt emerged from the smoke, shaking and with several collective wounds, but otherwise looking no worse the wear. The weight lifted a little more, until the rest of the ruddy aliens came into view.

Wild, was Pidge's immediate thought. Eye's slighted and veins bulging, several of the calmer Zuiry'kt were holding them back. What really scared her was the lack of care for their injuries. Shiro was already helping support an unconscious, younger looking alien be carried.

"You are with those other two," a tall Zuiry'kt approached her, calm but haggard, "we can sense your same strong spirit." What had happened? Her eyes, or spirit, must've told her unease, because as she went to help support the Zuiry'kt continued. "Their spirits are strong, they continue the fight while we lost control."

"You mean they are still behind," Shiro asked, pausing to ask, voicing her own concerns.

"Yes, the smoke. It makes my people and I lose control and lose ourselves to the call of battle. We had to leave to subdue half of our number and quell our agitated spirit, should we begin to attack each other or the Paladins." He began to try to shuffle forward, thinking that was explanation enough for her. Pidge stayed rooted to the spot. They had left Lance and Keith behind!

The Zuiry'kt may not be able to go back down the tunnels, but she could. No way would she willingly leave her boys. She turned to Shiro, only to see conflict painted clearly on his face.

"Pidge, how much time is left?" Oh. Oh. _OH!_ There were only four dobashes left. The hall doors were already beginning to close, the way they had come had only a small opening, enough for only someone her size to vault through. They needed to go back, but the Zuiry'kt would not make it out on their own.

"Shiro, we are so close to them, I can make it through. I remember another exit on the schematics, let me go get them." She was already letting one of the other aliens come offer support in her stead, and making her way towards the deeper tunnels.

"Stay on your com, and hurry. I'll let Hunk and the Princess know the change in plans directly," Shiro said behind her.

"Got it!" She jumped the rising ledge, not bothering to turn back. The tunnels continued down for a while. Ugh no time for this. She pointed her bayard at the ceiling and attached it overhead, reeling herself in so she could swing feely down the hall. The alarms continued to blare overhead, a constant whine in her ears as the sounds of the Zuiry'kt and Shiro dissipated behind her.

The cold seeped into the soles of her boots as she ran down the corner. Metal parts were thrown everywhere, residual sparks flickering in the low light. Her breath came loud in her helmet as she passed the charred spots from obvious firefight. She splashed through a dark puddle, ignoring the pungent smell of blood and oil that churned her stomach even more.

"Hey come on buddy, we're almost there. See look, there's my sick headshot." Lance. She missed the muffled response by Keith, but really she was just happy to find them.

"Guys!" – She ran up and gave them a quick clap on the shoulder – "Okay so the doors are closed, but I have a plan."

Keith, who was leaning heavily on Lance and cradling his right arm to his chest, looked up to her saying, "You always do, Pidge." Even though he was leaning on Lance, Lance didn't look so good himself. His hand was strained crimson, and was she could see blood dripping from his ears and temple. Keith has covered in blossoming bruises, with several gashes along his back.

"Look there's a chute if we go farther down, I'll contact Shiro and have Green come grab us."

"A chute? That sounds so promising," Lance snarked. She just fixed him with a short look; at least his humor wasn't hurt.

"Yeah well, it's just through these rooms according to the schematics," Pidge said while gesturing to some open doorway rooms off to the right. Unlike the cells or locked off corridors, these rooms connected as a type of stronghold and gathering center. To her it looked like there _had_ been sentries gathered here. Keith's mumbled "Could've laid there for a bit longer…" confirmed that the massive destruction littering the area had something to do with the two Paladins beside her.

Keith placed his hand on thd scanner to open the door at the far side that she indicated to. Not for the first time today, she felt like Hunk at the sight that met her. What had been simply labeled "Med Bay" looked anything but. She wasn't the only one was both Keith and Lance, already pale from blood loss, blanched even further.

"I guess we know what that smell is now," Lance said behind her. They made their way through the sticky floor, gingerly stepping over broken instruments and jars of… something. She spotted the chute covering in the back, Lance and Keith moving to clear a path in front of her.

"Shiro, are you in the Green lion," Pidge called into the coms. "I found them and am going to need a pickup."

"Loading up the Zuiry'kt currently. Ran into a bit of trouble on the way out, nothing big," he assured.

"We are closing in as best as we can, but we are being held outside the perimeter by the cannons and turrets," came Allura over the coms. Despite the current situation Blue and Yellow found themselves in, Pidge couldn't help but be a tiny be relieved to hear her voice after the report from Hunk earlier.

"Shiro I have the layout of the base, including this chute, uploaded to Green. She knows where to go. She just has to lock onto my signal. I know it doesn't work inside the base, but I got a plan. Just tell Green to go with option 'D'." Of the different scenarios she had come up with, at least this one had a plan that worked out. Well, hypothetically.

"Ugh great. We're going down the body dump," Lance said into the coms. "If this was named option 'D' for body dump that is totally not cool, Gremlin."

"Body dump?!" Hunk's voice came in, mixed with the sound of firefight. "Pidge, wasn't that over the huge unknown since we don't have any schematics of the area around the prison?" More firefight mixed with static sounded, cutting him off before she could reply. She knew the plan was dangerous, seeing as she didn't know exactly where it was the chute went, but she could take a good guess.

"Hunk! We must get to that last canon," Allura answered instead. A grumble of 'yeah I hadn't noticed' came from the Yellow Paladin before both cut out to resume attacking the front.

"Pidge," Shiro cut in, "I got everyone loaded up and am ready to head out in Green. She seems to know where to go, but we're going to have to fight our way through. We'll be there in a few dobashes." She acknowledged this and turned back to help Lance and Keith. Usually the two would have no difficulty in clearing a way and opening the hatch, but with their combined injuries progress was a tick slower than Pidge was comfortable with.

She grabbed the heavy latch alongside Lance and pulled with all her strength. It unsealed with a soft hiss before creaking open to reveal, empty blackness. The light dissipating after only a foot into the unknown of the drop.

"Hey there demons. It's me, ya boi."

"Keith, much as I appreciate the reference, and I can't believe _I'm_ saying this, but now is _not_ the time!" Pidge just sighed at the other two Paladin's antics before getting into position on the ledge of the chute.

"Alright so new plan, I'm going to repel down as far as I can. Once Shiro is here, you two come down and use your jetpacks to slow your descent into Green." The others nodded their agreement so she sunk her bayard into the metal, tested the strength, and then leapt into the unknown. One of her least favorite activities as the Green Paladin.

The yank on her arm at the sudden stop when her bayard whet taught felt more like it was being retched from its socket than anything else. If the pain and sound was anything to go by, she most likely had. At least she had remembered to slow her descent a bit with her jet pack. A bit too late, but no time to dwell since plans were much harder in execution anyway. She hadn't quite reached the end, but could make out the general shape of where the chute ended below, and what unfortunately was beneath it.

A crevasse. A huge crevasse that split and looked to be supporting the prison in some places, but mostly it just dropped down an ungodly height. A height she was cursing over while dangling from her aching shoulder. Her muscles were on fire and every twist was sending shooting pain down her side. She just hoped her grip was strong enough on her bayard; numbness had already settled in and she wasn't sure if that was good or bad at the moment. "Shiro! I'm at the end of my rope – ha, comedy – and can see out the chute. Where are you?"

"Almost there Pidge! Hunk, I need more cover over here!" Shiro went back and forth with Hunk and the Princess, calling out positions but she could barely hear them over the roar of blood flow, her heart hammering in protest to her current position.

A clank from above and something whizzing past her brought her out of her near daze. A flash of red and white tumbled past her before she lost sight to the abyss below but she easily recognized what had just been tossed. A bayard, smoking and spitting.

She thumbed over her com, heart on overdrive from anxiety mixing with pain, her arm giving another painful twinge as a reminder that moving was not the best option at the moment.

"Pidge! Do you come in?" Hunk iterated, "We we're able to cover Shiro but more of the Galra were able to get back in. They are activating a particle barrier!" She could see a purple glow bouncing off the chute walls and knew there wasn't enough time. Lance and Keith had to get to her.

"I'm right below the chute outside the barrier! Go now," came Shiro, a roar from Green below doubling his argument. Just as she was to ask the new Red and Black Paladin's their position, she felt her line go slack and had a moment of weightlessness before her stomach dropped to her toes as she free fell.

She dropped like a Hunk body slammed stone, tumbling and out of control into the crevasse. Purple was creeping up fast below her and for a tick she entertained the idea of a green bug on a purple windshield. Breathing heavy, she closed her eyes as she fumbled to orient herself to use her jetpack. The booster flared to life and stilled her frantic movements. After another tick, not quite trusting she wasn't dead, she cracked open her eyes in just enough time to see the barrier close. Above her. She was through and drifting to Green whose maw was wide and waiting.

She panted loudly, swiveling her head all around as she noticed something quickly out of place. She was the only one floating down. No Keith, no Lance. She touched down in Green, already shutting tight and moving away, and clutched her arm as she ran to the cockpit.

"Shiro, guys we can't go. Lance and Keith didn't follow me down and are still inside!" His horror struck face met hers as Green guided them away from the enemy base.

"Fellow Paladin's, we must regroup now. We cannot break into that barrier as we are and while we cannot get past, their defense system, including more attached ion cannons can," Allura's voice came through, sounding tight and frustrated. She wanted to argue so bad. There was another option, there always was before and she would find one now. _Needed_ to find one now.

"The… The Princess is right," Shiro backed her up, even if his words were laced with regret. He had turned his back to her in the cockpit, focusing on Green's controls instead. "We are not retreating, just regrouping. There's no way we're losing anyone." His tone took a sharper turn as he finished up, so Pidge knew he was just as irked as she was.

Reality sat in and forced her to sit down, or else fall down, in the back of Green's cockpit on the spare jump-seat. Throbbing pain ebbed its way up her arm as the blood returned. She definitely wished it would go back to being numb. The haze that had threatened her earlier returned full force as Green dodged fire from behind.

She closed her eyes to focus on breathing. Her last real thought that wasn't encompassed with pain making her heart ache for an entirely different reason.

Lance and Keith were trapped, and it was completely her fault.

 **A/N:**

I am scum for not posting sooner. I promise I was not just sitting on this, there were complications to be handled. Plus, extra-long chapter for everyone! Yeah! I hope the wait was worth it. Feel free to scream at me below because as always, feedback is much appreciated. Until next time!


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